The Notebook (2004)

At a nursing home, a man reads a story to a woman who lost her memory. It is about the love story between a rich young woman and a working-class guy.

This is related, somewhat distantly, to the likes of Love Affair (1939 and 1957), Conte d'hiver (1992), and Before Sunset (2004), and more closely to Splendor in the Grass (1961), to which it could be said to be a rebuke. The change in worldview in regards to that last movie is commented upon in poetical terms with quotes from Whitman, the hero's favorite poet; a wink is made to the audience in reference to the 1961 film ("I am more of a Tennyson man myself", says the hero's father). Although this may seem like a worthy proposition at first sight, the shape it takes in the movie is flawed in some essential respects; the most serious one is perhaps the notion that giving love to someone who cannot perceive it is a meaningful thing; the sheer absurdity of the notion reveals itself particularly in the scene where the old woman relapses into amnesia; there is a faint glimpse of a better film which could have been in that scene, but then it slips back to the old "eternal love" discourse and then the film is over; in addition to this aspect, the actual construction of the story is pretty lame, falling through due to numerous details which range from psychological implausibilities to monetary inconsistencies.

Rating: 24